Why you should never use a free website builder for your business

When starting off your new business website, it can be extremely tempting to use one of the myriad free website builders or blogging sites out there. As well as sites such as Wix and WordPress.com, there’s Blogger and even website builders available from many web hosts.

They can be relatively easy to set up, especially in comparison with something like self-hosted WordPress, where the learning curve can be quite steep. You can even have your site up and running within a few hours even if you know nothing at all about HTML or coding.

So why wouldn’t you want to use one of these website builders, especially as they’re free?

1. Your own domain and email address

You need your own domain name that reflects your business, such as www.yourcompany.com, and www.yourcompany.wix.com or www.yourcompany.wordpress.com doesn’t cut it for a professional company.

With many of these free site builders, you’re either left using their format for your domain name, or you can connect your site to your own URL, but you have to pay extra to do it.

It’s also much more professional to have This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. than to have to use Hotmail, Yahoo or similar because your site builder doesn’t provide you with the option of email addresses at your URL.

2. Your business needs a professional, branded look

Many free site builders are very limited when it comes to design and functionality. You’ll find the same templates over and over again on multiple sites because businesses used a site builder that simply wasn’t as customisable as they needed.

It's far better to use self-hosted WordPress and pay for hosting and an excellent, completely customisable theme so you can have your website fully designed to suit your brand.

3. You need to own your own real estate on the web

If you build your business on a platform you don’t own, such as Blogger or WordPress.com, what happens to your business if they either decide they don’t like your site and wipe it overnight, or if they go out of business next week and your site disappears?

Unless you own your own domain name and host your website yourself, you are extremely vulnerable to the rules and whims of the platform you use, and you simply can’t afford that for your business.

If you’d like to find out more about our services at Canberra web, including responsive, fully brandable web design Canberra, get in touch on 02 6223 2222.

5 things to remove from your website to boost conversion rates

As much as you can put everything on your website, with efficient web design Canberra businesses notice a huge difference in sales. Here are five things to remove from your website to boost conversion rates.

1. Dates on your blog

Most how-to articles are evergreen and will still be useful to your audiences in a month or year to come. Adding a date to a post can make it look old and outdated, even if it is still relevant. Consider removing the date and ensure that it does not appear in the URL either, and your blogs will remain timeless.

2. Vague headlines

Homepage headlines that fail to say what the business does are vague. Most websites place the ‘what we do’ information in smaller text below the headline. Remember, when visitors land in your website, they want to know if they are in the right place. Therefore, remove the headline about value or quality and explicitly state the main business category.

3. Long paragraphs

While some visitors read thoroughly, all visitors scan through websites. Short paragraphs make scanning easier and can keep your visitors in your website longer to boost conversion rates. Make sure that your content is between three to four lines long and incorporates formatting aspects like bold text and bullets.

4. Greedy forms

Avoid asking visitors for more information than they feel is necessary. For instance, asking 20 questions to subscribe to a newsletter can mean a lower conversion rate. You should ask for the minimum information needed to respond to the lead like basic contact information. Additional questions can be asked during the follow-up email or call.

5. Social media icons in the header

Social media traffic is great but can fail to help you meet your goals. Visitors need to first understand what your business is all about before they follow you on social media. Otherwise, they may get distracted by other videos and trending topics on social media. Consider removing the social media icons in the website’s header and place it in the footer instead.

Canberra Web has a team of experts that builds and maintains quality websites. We not only make your website search engine optimised, but we also ensure that it meets your requirements. Call us today for the best SEO, web design, web hosting, content creation and graphic design Canberra has to offer.

2019 digital marketing trends to ensure that online sale

As 2018 draws to a close, the digital marketing world is seeing a shift in the techniques that are used to promote and secure sales on an online store. New trends and strategies are being released and all are evolving towards an entirely internet-connected era.

Companies are needing to incorporate these digital marketing trends to keep up with competition and to ensure that customers are clicking the purchase button on their online store. In 2019, the digital marketing world will largely be focused on strategies that incorporate personalisation and prioritise user experience.

The top three digital marketing trends that companies can expect to see dominate in 2019 are listed below:

1. Chatbots

Already a popular type of digital marketing which focuses on user experience in 2018, chatbots will see a rise in popularity. Chatbots are used to answer any consumer question on the spot, helping boost consumer confidence and lessening the need for the company to provide human resources.

This artificial intelligence technology is set to become a common addition to any website, particularly e-commerce platforms and online stores to heighten the chance of consumers purchasing the product, instead of leaving a cart due to unanswered questions or confusion.

2. Personalisation

In order to stand out among a sea of competitors, companies need to personalise their digital marketing techniques to gain the rapport and respect of their audience. Shopping is a uniquely personal experience and consumers in 2019 will expect to feel the same when checking out of an online store, as they would if they were in a physical store.

Personalization techniques will be utilised on online stores via personalised emails, social media engagement and online stores such as Joomla or WordPress ‘remembering’ a customers latest or favourite purchase and displaying it when they are on the platform.

3. Video marketing

Video viewing is becoming increasingly popular for the 2019 digital-savvy era. Consumers are watching and sharing more videos than ever before, and 52% are more confident in purchasing products online if there is an accompanying product video.

Videos on online stores in 2019 will become more popular and range from educational product ‘how-to’ content to sharp, snappy advertisements.

There are several experts in digital marketing Canberra residents know that they can rely on to boost online sales. One of the most renowned companies is Canberra Web, who utilise platforms such as Joomla and WordPress to design online stores that can be digitally marketed in the best way possible.

Does your website make a strong first impression?

A website is often the public's first interaction with your business. It cannot succeed simply through an engaging design or thoughtful content. Your website needs to have a style that feeds into your customer's user experience while being easy to understand at a first glance. Just with a client or customer meeting you in person, or walking into your office, first appearances and experiences are important.

Value proposition

Make sure your mission statement clearly states the purpose of your website and calls out to prospective customers what you do, and why they need you. Ensure this is on your homepage, in your blogs and on your ‘about’ page.

Website navigation

The way in which visitors get around your website is vital in that it helps the user find what they need to know, but also helps your search engine rankings. Navigation should be intuitive and human, utilising words prospective clients are searching for directly, meaning fewer clicks to get to the content, which again helps search engines identify your relevance in the search.

Tip: avoid using jargon or lingo. Often businesses try to be clever instead of being intuitive for their visitors. Customers won’t know what “Our Buzz” means. Is that your blog? Say “Blog”, keep it simple and common.

A clear call to action

One of the most important things when engaging with clients or prospective customers is the call to action. Once you’ve got visitors, and you’ve got their attention, you then need to tell them what you want them to do. You might consider click buttons like “get a quote” or “go to check out”. The click button should always be the description of an action or next step.

It can also be helpful to add colour to your call to action, a colour with accents and contrasts with the primary scheme of your website.

Mobile friendly

This is a must-have for web design as most people view websites on their phone more frequently than their computer. Additionally, on April 21st, Google updated their search rankings algorithm to ensure web pages that are mobile optimised will now rank higher in mobile search results compared with non-mobile friendly sites.

For more information in improving your digital marketing Canberra wide, get in touch.